Page 17 of The Secrets We Treasure

“Why is Leo not in jail?”

“The police couldn’t prove anything. We still don’t know for sure if Leo was the one sending the texts and emails or if he was even the one who broke the window of my house. As a precaution, I hired a private detective to investigate Leo’s life.”

“And?”

Quickly, she told Greer all that Howard had discovered about Leo’s failure to pay child support and then the restraining order filed by his ex-girlfriend. “I learned today that Leo has disappeared.”

Greer’s voice shot up. “Disappeared? What do you mean?”

“According to the detective, Leo left work last Friday and hasn’t been seen since.”

“That’s not good.”

Chills ran over Treasure’s arms as Greer’s words hit home. “We don’t know if Leo’s disappearance is in any way connected to me. The police were never able to establish a link between the stalker and Leo.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“But just in case, the detective is trying to track Leo down.”

“Good idea,” Greer said with conviction.

Silence came over the line. It was Treasure’s turn to ask, “Are you still there?”

“I’m here. Does your fiancé have a plan to keep you safe?”

Ah, so he was finally bringing up the elephant between them. There was a peculiar hardness in Greer’s voice that percolated hope in her chest. Maybe Greer did care, after all. “There is no fiancé.”

“What?”

She punched out the words with a vengeance. “It was all a publicity stunt concocted by my manager.”

He laughed in relief. “Oh, wow. That’s fantastic.”

Her heart swelled. “You think so?”

“Yes.”

A grin curved her lips. “Why’s that?”

“You know why,” he replied softly.

She blinked several times. She’d half expected Greer to crack a joke as a means of deflection, but this was so much better. She swallowed, composing her thoughts. “Are we really doing this?” Blushing like a teenager, she held her breath, waiting for his response. She’d wanted Greer for so long. Did she dare hope that their friendship could turn into something more? When he didn’t answer right away, she rushed to fill the gap. “I—I mean, I would understand if you need more time. You know, to sort through your stuff.”

“Stuff?”

Gah! She was making a complete idiot of herself. “Feelings,” she blurted.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

He was making her work for it. Her words tumbled out. “Your loss of Aimee.”

He paused for several beats. Treasure had to force herself to remain quiet. Normally, she was the picture of cool and collected, but right now, she was a bumbling mess. The desire to jabber at warp speed to ease the awkwardness was nearly overwhelming.

“How about this,” he finally said. “I’m heading to Honeysuckle Island this weekend. Laci’s throwing me a surprise birthday party on Saturday. You should come. Afterward, we could spend a few days together.”

She gulped, several thoughts racing in her head. “Laci’s throwing you a birthday party? She didn’t mention anything about it to me.”

“No? I’m not surprised.”

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